The former director of the Anne Arundel County police crime lab was sentenced Tuesday to six months in prison for pilfering drugs from county facilities.

Annette Box, 49, of Pasadena was ordered to serve six months in jail, prosecutors said.

"It is uniquely distressing when a person who is placed in a position of trust, who works in service to our community, abuses their access for personal gain," Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Wes Adams said in a statement. "Annette Box violated the public's faith in law enforcement, and now finds herself on the other side of the criminal justice system."

In late December of 2016, police got a call for a motor vehicle accident in a residential area. Box was one of those involved. At the scene, a witness told police that Box had her 12-year-old daughter haul black trash bags from her car to a neighbor's home. Police asked the neighbor for access to the bags, where they found a number of varied prescription drugs.

Box, who struck a plea deal with prosecutors, said she got the drugs from police drop boxes. Police found that going back to August 2014, she exploited her position at the crime lab to steal the drugs for her own use. In all, 15,813.5 scheduled and non-scheduled pills were found in her possession.

She pleaded guilty in December to misconduct in office, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and theft scheme. The remainder of a five year sentence was suspended.